4 – The Heist
Chapter Four
The Heist
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It was with a great amount of reluctance that Rainbow suggested what she knew she needed to suggest: they form a plan. Since it was dangerous to stay at the Pie family house given Rainbow’s drop in reputation, they instead went back to Griffonstone.
Along the way, there were a surprising number of griffons scattered about. They all seemed in oddly good spirits, considering what had happened. She overheard a conversation.
“I got stationed on the wall,” one griffon said, sounding almost proud.
“Lucky you!” the other said, although he didn’t sound upset about his own role. “I’ll be making food for the construction crew, so think of me when you get your daily slop!”
They both laughed, and Rainbow scowled. Once upon a time, this would have been all she could have asked for – seeing griffons care about their city. But they didn’t care, they just cared that their new queen had ordered it.
She flew to her house as quickly as she could with Pinkie following her, which was much slower than if she had gone by herself. Pinkie was not a strong flyer, and it wasn’t like Rainbow was going to leave her behind.
Once home, she ignored the door and went in through her bedroom window. Pinkie followed, barely squeezing in due to her larger frame.
Since she wasn’t going to fly inside, Rainbow instantly fell to pacing. She grinned at her friend, who jumped onto her bed. “So… here’s what I’m thinking.”
Pinkie turned her attention to Rainbow, who launched into an expert plan: Pinkie would kick in the door, and then beat up anyone who got in their way while Rainbow made a beeline for the Idol.
Although that plan was awesome, Pinkie gave her a concerned look. “Fighting? Dashie, we can’t fight innocent griffons…”
Rainbow frowned. “Gilda is not innocent.”
“But what if she has guards? They’d just be doing their jobs.”
Pinkie had a point. And even more of a point was the fact that Pinkie probably couldn’t fight off a bunch of guards. She was a lynx griffon, but she did have limits. Rainbow considered that.
“Well,” she said eventually, “what do you think we should do?”
Pinkie rolled onto her back and stared at Rainbow’s ceiling. “We really can’t talk it out with her, huh?”
They had already been over that – there was no reasoning with Gilda. But Rainbow didn’t blame her for wanting to take that route. She would, too, if it only had some chance of working.
She sighed and tried to explain it better. “Look, I tried talking to her. They wouldn’t let me anywhere near her! And there’s no reasoning with Gilda. I know her, Pinkie. And I know that she’ll never back down, ever.”
“I guess…”
Rainbow hopped onto the bed with Pinkie and used her beak to nudge her gently. “I wish it would work, Pinks. But all we’d do is alert her that we’re not going to sit back and follow. And then there won’t be any hope of getting it back!”
Pinkie rolled over and put her talons around Rainbow. “Okay… But if we can’t talk and we can’t fight…”
Rainbow thought for a moment. They only had one other option. “We’ll have to steal it from her.”
“But how?”
Rainbow tried to sit up, but Pinkie gently held her down, so she gave up. Instead, she rolled onto her back and let Pinkie rest her head on her chest. “She’s gotta take it home, right? We’ll sneak in.”
“Break into her house? I don’t know, Dashie…”
“It’s a risk, yeah, but what other choice do we have?”
Pinkie was quiet for a while, and Rainbow was pretty sure she understood. It was a lot to take in.
But when Pinkie spoke, Rainbow was not prepared for the words she said. “Maud said… I shouldn’t do dangerous things with you anymore.”
Rainbow tensed at that, but carefully controlled her reaction. She had agreed with Maud saying that, and that had just been the night before!
Neither of them said anything. Pinkie kept lying on Rainbow, but her head was turned away from her, so she couldn’t guess what the griffin might be thinking. Eventually, Rainbow pulled her talon out from under Pinkie’s body and rested it on her head instead.
Rainbow was not a griffon of words. They never quite seemed to do what she wanted them to, and at times like this, she couldn’t even form them at all. So instead she held onto Pinkie, and she hoped that would say whatever she couldn’t say with words.
It was, if nothing else, a nice moment. She reminded herself this was what she really wanted – Pinkie to stay by her side, to keep being her friend. Or to keep being whatever else she might be. She didn’t think she could do it alone, but she also could never push Pinkie to do anything like this.
The quiet moment was, in fact, only a moment before it was ruined. She heard her mom from the doorway. “Aww! Aren’t you two just the sweetest thing?”
Rainbow scowled and shot up, ignoring how she disrupted Pinkie in the process. She glared at her mom, and suddenly found words that could express what she wanted to say with ease. “Mom! You could knock!”
“Your door was open, sweetie.” Windy Whistle turned around and walked off, but called behind her, “Come on down for lunch, you two!”
Rainbow sighed, but when she turned to Pinkie, she found her smiling. So Rainbow smiled as well, though she did roll her eyes. “Parents, right?”
“Aww, your parents are great, Dashie.” Pinkie nuzzled her. “Hungry?”
Wary that somegriff may still be lingering, Rainbow stood up quickly. “Yeah, sure. let’s go.”
She led the way downstairs, but the whole way, she found herself wondering how she was going to pull this off on her own.
She waited until nightfall because that was objectively the coolest time to do a super awesome stealth mission. Also because she needed to wait until Pinkie left for dinner. But she told herself it was because she wanted to do things the awesome way.
It would just be Rainbow, and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Gilda was smart. Rainbow would never admit it to her, but she was smarter than Rainbow was. She was maybe the smartest griffon Rainbow actually knew. There was no way she’d leave the Idol unprotected.
Which meant that somehow, Rainbow had to outsmart her. It was a battle of wits as much as anything, and the only saving grace was that Rainbow was the only one who knew it was going on. Still, she wished she had Pinkie beside her.
For her strategy, all she could do was hope Gilda went to sleep. So Rainbow waited until her parents fell asleep, then snuck out of the window and onto her roof.
For a while, she just looked over Griffonstone. She asked herself, not for the first time, if this was really something she needed to do. Gilda was… well, she was a lot of things. And right now, Rainbow was not happy with her. But… she remembered Pinkie saying that maybe Gilda could lead.
But somehow, Rainbow knew this was bigger. She… she felt it. It was similar to what she felt in the cave. The Idol… was it the Idol calling to her?
She didn’t know, but she knew she had to get it back. She spread her wings, ready to make the flight to Gilda’s house, but then she caught sight of something.
Something pink.
Rainbow’s mouth curved into a smile as she realized Pinkie was coming back to her. She was confused, but she was happy.
Pinkie landed on the roof beside her and smiled. “So, ready to go?”
“Go?”
Pinkie laughed. “To Gilda’s, silly!”
Rainbow shook her head slightly. “But you said…”
“I said what Maud told me.” Pinkie smiled as if nothing was amiss, as if she wasn’t disobeying a direct order from her older sister. “But it’s not her decision, it’s mine. And my decision is to trust you.”
“Pinkie… Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Pinkie leaned her forehead against Rainbow, and their beaks clicked together.
Rainbow could only blink. Pinkie had never done that before. Nogriff had ever done that with Rainbow before. That was…
They both knew what it was. And yet, when she pulled her head back, Pinkie just smiled as if it was nothing more significant than a friendly hug. “Ready?”
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Rainbow nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
They both took to the air, and Rainbow led the way. She flew quietly and slowly through the night air. There was no rush, after all; the worst thing would be if someone saw them racing there and tried to stop them.
Unfortunately, that forced her to think along the way. Specifically, to think about Pinkie, and what Pinkie meant to her, and what Rainbow meant to Pinkie. She had a pretty clear indication of the latter thanks to what Pinkie had just done.
Rainbow hated thinking. She was itching to do something.
And as she approached Gilda’s house, it was time to do just that. She touched down a ways away, with Pinkie right behind her. Rainbow turned to her and nodded, a silent signal that it was show time.
Using her superior kestrel vision, Rainbow analyzed everything around them. “Okay.” This needed to go right, so Rainbow pushed all thoughts of everything else from her mind. In place of those thoughts, she focused on what was in front of them. “There’s two guards out at the front door, and there might be more inside. That means we’ve gotta do it quietly, but we still need to get rid of those guys.”
Pinkie nodded. “Right.”
Rainbow kept her eyes on the two guards, who didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere. “So here’s what I’m thinking. I fly in from above and do a triple flip into a roundhouse kick to take out the one on the left, which is your cue to come in and bodyslam the one on the right. You’ve gotta make sure you keep his beak closed so he can’t yell for help though. Then we can… Pinkie!”
As Rainbow was trying to explain her plan, she saw Pinkie walking up to the guards. A quick look to her left showed Pinkie had somehow snuck off without Rainbow even hearing her. All she could do to watch as the very obvious griffin approached the guards like it was no big deal.
While Rainbow waited with bated breath, sure that everything was ruined, both the guards just flew off on their own. Pinkie waved to Rainbow, who blinked a few times, then flew over to the front door and landed beside Pinkie. “What was that?”
Pinkie just shrugged. “I told them that we’re their relief so they can go home.”
Rainbow faceclawed. She couldn’t believe that worked. “Good job, but no more running off on your own. If we run into more guards, we need to talk about what to do before doing it.”
“Okie dokie.”
Rainbow glanced around and then opened the door. She ducked in, with Pinkie close behind her, then she closed it as quietly as she could.
Gilda’s house was only one story, but Rainbow wasn’t exactly sure where her room was. That was the most likely place for the Idol to be. Of course, it was also the most likely place for Gilda to be, so they would have to be careful.
But before they could even survey the room they were in, they heard the sound of someone else nearby. For a second, Rainbow panicked, but then she realized it was only the sound of snoring. A quick look around revealed an open doorway from which the snoring was coming.
Unfortunately, that was the only way to go. They were in a small foyer with just the one doorway, so their only hope was that whoever slept in the next room was not a light sleeper.
Rainbow gulped, then she carefully took point. At least there was no door, so they didn’t have to worry about creaky hinges or sudden light differences giving them away. She pressed herself against a wall and looked through the opening. It seemed to be the living room, which only had one griffon in it. Rainbow squinted and could barely make out the form of Grandpa Gruff, snoring away on a couch.
That was good – everygriff knew that Gruff was half deaf, so they were probably in the clear. Rainbow looked back at Pinkie and jerked her head towards the room, then quietly walked into it. The pads on her hindpaws were silent, but there was a tiny tapping sound every time her talons touched down. There was nothing to do for it though; flapping her wings would be even riskier.
Once in the living room, Rainbow looked around carefully. They were alone aside from Gruff, who didn’t seem to notice them. Unfortunately, that was where their luck ended. There were two doors, a hallway, and another open doorway, any of which could lead to Gilda’s room.
Making a quick decision, Rainbow led them to the open entryway. It didn’t have a door to worry about, so it was the quietest option, and that made it the best one.
A quick glance revealed that to be the kitchen, however, which seemed useless to them. That left the hallway and the two doors. She decided to whittle down their options by checking the doors, one of which was sure to be a bathroom. Even a dead end was important intel.
There was a light on in one of the rooms, so that would be far too dangerous to check out. Instead, she turned to the other. It seemed to be dark inside whatever room was behind it, so Rainbow pressed her head against it to see if she could hear anything.
There was no sound. Meanwhile, being in the same room as Grandpa Gruff drove her anxiety sky-high even if he was asleep. She turned the knob and opened the door just a little, waiting to hear if anyone would notice.
No one did, so she carefully pushed the door open, wincing as it creaked a little. Although she was sure someone would catch them at any moment, the only reaction was Grandpa Gruff snoring louder.
Turning back to the door, Rainbow poked her head in the now open doorway. She cursed her luck as it turned out to just be a closet full of boxes of random crap. Not the kind of place Gilda would store something like the Idol of Boreas.
She closed the door silently and turned her attention to the only place they hadn’t explored – the hallway. They had ruled out everything but the room with the light on, which meant they were getting closer. Rainbow led them down the hallway, cursing the sound of Pinkie’s talons gently tapping on the floor behind her.
Of course, there were more doors. There of them, and there was no telling what was waiting on the other side of any of them.
The nearest door was cracked open and the room was dark inside. That made it a safe choice, so Rainbow crept up to it and took a look inside. She found it was a bedroom, and there was no one in it.
Hoping it would be Gilda’s room and that she was conveniently out, Rainbow pushed her way in. It felt good to be a room away from anygriff, but they wouldn’t be safe until they were out of the house with the Idol in claw.
Pinkie tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a window. She put her beak beside Rainbow’s head and whispered, “We could make a getaway through there so we don’t have to go through the front door.”
Rainbow nodded. “Good thinking. I don’t think the Idol’s in here though.”
Pinkie looked around and shrugged. “Maybe it’s Grandpa Gruff’s room?”
That would make sense, but if that was the case, they weren’t going to find the Idol in his room. “Let’s go back to the hallway.”
Pinkie led them to the door, and Rainbow led them out of it. She immediately turned down the hallway once again. Two more doors, behind one of which had to be the Idol of Boreas.
The farther one was open, but Rainbow pressed her head against the first one that she came to. It was dark, but she heard noises coming from inside. That would be a good indication that she should leave it be, but recognized the gruff voice she heard muttering.
She turned to Pinkie and pulled her close enough to whisper to her. “I hear Gilda inside.”
Pinkie nodded. “Are we going in?”
Rainbow looked towards the open door. It would be stupid to not check it before going into a room that she knew had an awake Gilda inside. She motioned for Pinkie to wait for her, then went to get a better look.
There was no sound coming from that room either, so Rainbow poked her head in the open doorway. It was another bedroom, which seemed to be just as empty as the last one. That was disappointing, as the only option left had Gilda inside of it.
With a soft sigh, she returned to Pinkie. They could wait until Gilda was asleep, but who knew how long that would take? Anywhere in the house would be dangerous to wait, and there was no guarantee they could get back in later.
More choices, and Rainbow hadn’t proven good with those. But Pinkie was waiting for her signal to move, so it was time to think of something.
What would happen if they went in and got caught? There didn’t seem to be any guards inside, so if it came to a fight, it would be two-on-one. She glanced at Pinkie, who was bigger and stronger than Gilda, but it was hard to imagine her using that strength.
But then if they did get caught, Rainbow could also confront Gilda about what she did head-on. That was what she had initially wanted to do. And besides, even if Pinkie wouldn’t help, Rainbow was reasonably sure she could take on Gilda.
One way or another, something was going to change, and that was good enough for Rainbow. But that change was only going to happen if they stopped waiting around a dark hallway, so she fixed her face in a determined stare and nodded.
She took hold of the doorknob and turned it as slowly as possible. She tried to time her pushing the door open with Grandpa Gruff’s snoring to cover any noise it made. There was no sign that they were noticed, so Rainbow positioned herself to enter the room.
Taking a look around before she did, she saw Gilda hunched over at a desk with only a small light on it. She was muttering to herself and seemed to be too preoccupied in whatever she was doing to notice that someone was looking in from her doorway.
More details. Rainbow noticed the light barely illuminated anything, so they could stick to the shadows. It only showed Gilda and…
And the Idol! It was on the desk beside Gilda, opposite the light. But it was unmistakable, the low light shining on the golden Idol that Gilda had polished so carefully. It would be exceptionally hard to get to it without alerting Gilda, but there was always plan B of confronting her directly.
With a steadying breath, Rainbow stepped into the room.
And then it all fell apart. There was the sound of someone screaming, though Rainbow didn’t recognize her voice. She was briefly aware that Gilda had tensed up at the sound of the scream, but Rainbow was already launching herself further into the room before Gilda could do anything.
Rainbow ducked behind Gilda’s bed, putting it between the two of them. She stared out of the hallway door, where she heard a female griffon yell, “Who are you, and what are you doing in our house!?”
Three thoughts occurred to Rainbow in one instant. The first was that the room with the light on had been occupied. The second was that Pinkie was trapped in the hallway, around the corner where Rainbow couldn’t see her.
The third was that this was once again all Rainbow’s fault.
The instant passed, and there were more voices joining in with the mystery griffon. Grandpa Gruff’s was the first, his voice carrying in from the living room. “Huh? What’s that?”
“What’s going on?” Gilda called, though she didn’t seem to be leaving her place. Rainbow wished she could see someone, but the bed blocked her view of Gilda, and the wall blocked everything else.
“Oh, I’m… one of the new guards!” Pinkie said. She never was the best liar, and she didn’t sound very convincing.
Somehow, it seemed to work, though. The unknown griffon still sounded confused, but she didn’t sound worried. “Oh, well, in that case, what are you doing inside?”
For half a second, Rainbow thought it might actually work. Then she heard Gilda, and those hopes crashed down around her. “Wait a second… I know that voice.”
Crap. Crap crap crap crap.
“Oh, silly me! I’ll just, er, see myself out then.”
“Pinkie Pie!?” Gilda roared. Although Rainbow couldn’t see her from her hiding spot, she heard her jump out of her seat. “Gabby, don’t let her out of here! Get her!”
In one move, Gilda jumped over the bed and landed in front of Rainbow. She never turned back, however, instead leaving Rainbow to stare as she ran out of the bedroom and into the hallway.
Then there was the sound of complete chaos in the other room. Rainbow could easily imagine everygriff trying to act at once, but it was impossible to figure out from the clatter what might be happening.
It didn’t matter. Rainbow couldn’t let Pinkie face this alone. Even if it wasn’t three-on-one, it was Pinkie. If Rainbow owed anygriff support, it was her.
She sprung up and ran to the door, looking out just in time to see Gilda’s tail disappear into the other room they had checked earlier. ‘Pinkie ran for the window!’
That didn’t mean Pinkie was safe, but it meant she wasn’t cornered. Another choice, and again, only a split second to make it. There was no sound of Pinkie being apprehended.
Seizing the only chance that she was likely to get, Rainbow wheeled around and bolted to the Idol. She grabbed it and looked around wildly for her escape. She found one in another window in Gilda’s room.
She pushed it open and shimmied out of it, then took the sky. The night air was quiet, so Rainbow flew around the house looking for something that might tell her what to do next.
What she saw was Pinkie flying down the street towards the Pie family house. She did not see anyone else. If there was no sign of Gilda, had Pinkie already lost her somehow? If she had, then she was safe, and if she hadn’t, then all she needed to do was get home. There was no way Gilda was going to get to Pinkie if Maud was around to stop her.
Wherever Gilda was, Pinkie had a head start. She wasn’t nearly as fast as Gilda, but she didn’t have to be. She was smart, and if she hadn’t already, she could lose her. If that somehow failed, then she didn’t need Maud to overpower Gilda.
Meanwhile, Rainbow had the Idol, which she needed to get somewhere safe. Besides, Pinkie would be safer if they never found out the Idol heist was successful; even if she was caught, she didn’t have what they wanted.
So Rainbow flew in the other direction towards her house, only hoping that this would finally be a decision she didn’t have to regret.
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Ehhh....do they, though? The more I think about this, the more I think Rainbow's overlooking (deliberately or otherwise) a rather important detail in all of this, and she's going to live to regret it.
Admittedly, that does sound like a typical Rainbow Dash kind of plan.
You didn't even try!
Personally, I am predicting all of the regrets.
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Without saying two much, there are two chapters left, so we'll see Rainbow's response very soon
Aside from that, thanks for reading and commenting. I'm not at a place where I'll get discouraged if I don't get comments, but there haven't been a ton of commenters on this one, and I appreciate you commenting on most every chapter
Griffon Pinkie is cute.
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Isn't she though
Hmm, making big assumptions here. If I were feeling uncharitable, I might say that Rainbow's just mad that she wasn't the one improving things -- but, while I do think that there's a bit of that, the larger part of it is more likely to be that she's letting her grudge cloud her view of things. She's mad, so she's leaning towards the worst possible ways to interpret things because that makes it easier to stay mad. Can't say I haven't been there.